Cheering from the sidelines, his parents can’t help but smile, too, as they watch their little boy play the game that so many children take for granted. You see, Johnny’s got cerebral palsy and for years everyone said he’d never be able to play.

That was before the Lindgrens discovered TOPSoccer, a community-based Minnesota Youth Soccer Association soccer program designed to meet the needs of athletes ages eight and older with physical and/or mental disabilities.

Johnny plays on the North Metro team, a team with players from Anoka, Andover, Coon Rapids, Ramsey, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Fridley and Champlin.

TOPSoccer is all-inclusive and is co-ed, said Region II TOPSoccer chairman Jim Robson.

“We’re open to any kid who wants to play. Doesn’t matter their disability,” he said.

They hope to add wheelchair soccer to the program soon, Robson said.

Athletes playing TOPSoccer include those with autism, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophy, spinal bifida and more.

“Each team is custom-designed for the athletes we have on the team,” Robson said.

A “buddy system” is employed on the TOPSoccer field, meaning each player has a helper-coach, an adult who keeps them on task and helps them play the game if that assistance is necessary, according to Robson.

TOPSoccer athletes start at eight years old and can play as long as they would like.

“There’s no top end. If an athlete wants to play, he or she can play,” said Robson.

Right now, athletes on the North Metro TOPSoccer team range from eight to 39 years old, he said.

One of the older players, Mary Grant’s 21-year-old daughter, has been playing since she was 11 or 12 years old.

“We found a team she could play on and she loves it. She doesn’t ever want to stop playing,” Grant said.

Janice Droll, who has a 21-year-old on the North Metro team, said she believes many of the kids “feel better when they can play with others who are disabled.